The Second Synod of the Archdiocese of Pretoria was launched by His Grace, Archbishop Dabula Mpako on the 28th February 2021 at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Pretoria. This Synod is based on the New Pastoral Plan of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) on the theme: Evangelising Community, serving God, Humanity and all Creation.
This Synod is an instrument for the Archdiocese to arrive at the Pastoral Plan of the Archdiocese of Pretoria. At the Launch, the Archbishop commissioned the Synod Steering Committee to assist him in establishing the Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Pretoria; to facilitate and coordinate the process of the Synod for the Archdiocese. He also mandated the Deans of the Six (6) Deaneries of the Archdiocese to oversee, monitor and ensure that the Synod achieves its purpose in all the Parishes. The Deans, in turn, took a commitment in front of the Archbishop and accepted to lead the faithful of the Archdiocese of Pretoria in the implementation of this Pastoral Plan throughout the Synod.
Synod Logo:
The Synod logo symbolises the flame of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the community that is gathering around Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Archdiocese, in listening to the Spirit, intends to empower its faithful to be the true evangelising community, serving God, Humanity and all Creation.
Synod Workshops:
In November 2020 many workshops were conducted for the Clergy, Religious and the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council in order to lay the foundation for the rest of other workshops. It became clear in these workshops that the Archdiocese was in the right direction as the Synod received a huge response. Many of their contributions were used to sharpen the structure of the Synod in terms of approach and content.
Synod Facilitators for Sodalities:
In March 2021, a workshop was conducted for the Synod Facilitators for Sodalities. During the Synod, all Sodality members are expected to respond to the questions according to their membership of each Sodality. Therefore each Sodality has selected the group of Facilitators in respective Deaneries to form the coordinating teams for each Sodality. They will in turn give workshop to the rest of their membership in the Parishes.
Synod Parish Facilitators:
Again in March 2021, workshops were conducted for the Synod Parish Facilitators. These are the coordinating teams in the Parishes and they will help the Parish Priests to run the Synod in their respective Parishes. The workshops led them to the understanding of the vision of the Bishops in establishing the new SACBC Pastoral Plan and to the purpose of the Archdiocese in launching the Second Synod.
Total number of participants at the workshops:
Eastern Deanery 50
Northern Deanery 18
NE Deanery 21
NW Deanery 48
Southern Deanery 38
Western Deanery 30
Sodalities 68
Youth 20
TOTAL 293
Procedure of the Synod at the Parish/Pastoral Districts:
Deacons and Religious Sisters will be co-opted into the facilitators’ team as per Synod procedures and many have attended the workshops in the deaneries. Facilitators will meet with their respective Parish Priest and the PPCs, for feedback of the workshops and to plan the roll out of the Synod at the Parish and the Pastoral District. Each district will consider its own situation and context. Facilitators will be introduced formally by the Parish Priest and their role explained to the Parishioners. Various methods of meetings will be adopted according to the structure of each Parish; i.e. either Small Christian Communities (SCCs) or family groups. All will, however, plan the meetings according to COVID-19 protocols. In the cases where meeting at homes will be impossible, SCCs will meet at the parish on Sundays. Many parishes and districts will use the social media platforms (facebook, whatsapp etc) to communicate the questions of the Synod to their members.